The present invention relates to data processing, and more particularly to user interfaces.
Generally, a data structure is a collection of organized data. Some data structures are represented as hierarchies in which nodes represent data objects and connections between the nodes represent the relationships between the data objects. One type of hierarchy is a tree hierarchy in which there is a root data object from which other data objects branch. Another type of hierarchy is a network hierarchy in which there need not be a root data object. These representations are usually, but need not be, graphical in nature.
A data structure can include nodes that are business objects, which are data objects that relate to one or more processes of an enterprise. Business objects can represent, for example, business partners, equipment, material master records, products, and so forth.
A data structure can be implemented as a product structure. A product structure refers to a collection of data objects that relate to or is associated with a particular product. A product structure can be used to model and configure a configurable product such as, for example, an automobile or a computer. As with other data structures, the data objects of a product structure can have complex relationships that can be represented by a hierarchy, such as a tree hierarchy. The data objects of the product structure can include any type of data objects such as, for example, documents, bills of materials, and product attributes.
Product structures that are included as part of a product design or product modeling application can generally be viewed by a user through a user interface. In certain implementations, the user interface is a Web-based interface established between a client computer and a server computer. A portal is one example of a user interface.
A data structure can also be implemented as, for example, an organization structure and a project hierarchy. The organization structure can indicate relationships between or among units of an organization. For example, an organization structure of an enterprise can indicate that the engineering department includes a development group and a test group. The project hierarchy can indicate relationships between and among components of a project. For example, an organization hierarchy of a product development project can indicate that a component that represents engineering tasks includes another component that represents testing tasks. Like the product structure, the organization structure and project hierarchy can also be included as part of a computer application.